Max verstappen on why he wants to quit driving and focus on others business.

RED BULL CAN USE VERSTAPPEN TO SETTLE THE RB DRIVER QUESTION

The second Red Bull Formula 1 team in 2024 faced two questions: what it would be called and how strong its driver lineup would be. While Yuki Tsunoda has matured as a driver over the last few seasons, it’s unclear how outright quick he is. Daniel Ricciardo used to give Max Verstappen a hard time as a team-mate, and subsequently destroyed Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon.

But then came the McLaren years, and that hard-earned reputation was shattered in a car that simply could not be driven in the manner that his muscle memory demanded. When rookie Oscar Piastri replaced him and was instantly a better match for Lando Norris than Ricciardo had been in the previous two years, it appeared that his F1 career was ended.

Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri lifeline as rookie Nyck de Vries was deemed unsatisfactory came off the back of an impressive test in the Red Bull at Silverstone. In his comeback there were some promising signs, but nothing solid gold. Taking only the sessions in which a valid comparison could be made, he qualified on average 0.12s slower than Tsunoda. (Yes, he was a starring fourth on the grid in Mexico, but on that occasion, Tsunoda was taking power unit penalties and made no serious qualifying attempt).

Where the drivers are relative to the front is not terribly clear. Was the late-season AlphaTauri a quick car being driven a few tenths off the pace by both drivers? Or a mediocre car being taken to its limit by both drivers? Or a mediocre car with mediocre drivers?

Red Bull is not the sort of organisation that would be relaxed about not knowing the answers to these questions – as it potentially impacts throughout the organisation, especially after two unsatisfactory seasons for Sergio Perez in the main team. If it decides to replace him in the future, it will surely want to know if it should promote from within or recruit from outside.

It’s not just a concern for the main team, either. This season could represent a fantastic opportunity for the smaller RB team given its much closer technical links to Red Bull Racing. But how would it know if the new car’s Red Bull-lite potential were being fully accessed by its drivers?

Well, there’d be one very simple and surely quite definitive way of finding out. Red Bull has the world’s #1 driver under contract, the two teams share a simulator. What is there to stop them having Max Verstappen drive the car in the sim?

Nothing. Article 17.2.8 of the technical regulations even says: “Competitors may make available to other competitors test facilities and equipment.”

If Verstappen is a big chunk faster than either Ricciardo or Tsunoda or if he’s not, either way, Red Bull has its answer.

No other team has the luxury of such direct comparison to the gold standard of F1. It would seem churlish not to use it.